Paint brush pocket

ABSTRACT

A paint brush pocket of one piece construction defined by a sleeve having a first closed end and a second open end, the cross section of the sleeve dimensioned to the cross section of that portion of a paint brush to which the bristles are attached, the depth of the sleeve dimensioned to the length of the paint brush from that portion to which the bristles are attached to the end of the bristles, it being understood that different size sleeves will be used for different sized paint brushes, the second open end of the sleeve having a generally U-shaped tongue to engage the rim of an open paint can, the U-shaped tongue extending over the rim and depending downwardly within the paint can and thus positioning the sleeve in juxtaposition to the circular outer surface of the paint can.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Applicant claims the benefit of provisional patent applicationSerial No. 60/387,951, filed Jun. 12, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to painting and in particular to apaint brush holder or pocket cooperative with the paint bucket forsecuring the paint brush when not being used.

[0004] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0005] People familiar with painting are familiar with the awkwardnessof securing a wet paint brush during the course of painting. Often timesthe painter is interrupted in the painting process in order to performcertain tasks in order to continue the painting process. He must lay thepaint brush down in order to perform these tasks before resumingpainting. The painter normally has one of two choices in securing thepaint brush. If paper is spread out or a drop cloth is being used, thepaint brush can be laid on the paper or drop cloth, but this optiontransfers wet paint to the paper or drop cloth, which could later bestepped in and tracked on non-protected surfaces.

[0006] The other option is for the painter to rest the paint brushacross the circumference of the paint can with the bristles and thehandle extending over the rim of the paint can. This has no detrimentaleffect to the bristles of the brush, but it does possibly transfer paintfrom the rim of the paint can to the handle of the brush used by thepainter.

[0007] Applicant has developed a novel contribution to the painting artswhich allows the paint brush to be stored outside and adjacent to thepaint can in a holster or pocket when not being actively used forpainting.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide for a novelpaint brush pocket which is cooperative with the open paint can andallows the web paint brush to be stored temporarily during the paintingprocess.

[0009] A further object of the present invention is to provide for anovel paint brush pocket which does not permit the brush to dry out whenthe brush is temporarily out of service during the painting process.

[0010] A still further object of the present invention is to provide fora novel paint brush pocket cooperative with an open paint can which iseasily manufactured and inexpensive such that it may be discarded whenthe painting process in one particular color is completed.

[0011] A still further object of the present invention is to provide fora novel paint brush pocket which aids in the removal of excess paintfrom the brush.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] A paint brush pocket of one piece construction defined by asleeve having a first closed end and a second open end, the crosssection of the sleeve dimensioned to the cross section of that portionof a paint brush to which the bristles are attached, the depth of thesleeve dimensioned to the length of the paint brush from that portion towhich the bristles are attached to the end of the bristles, it beingunderstood that different size sleeves will be used for different sizedpaint brushes, the second open end of the sleeve having a generallyU-shaped tongue to engage the rim of an open paint can, the U-shapedtongue extending over the rim and depending downwardly within the paintcan and thus positioning the sleeve in juxtaposition to the circularouter surface of the paint can.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] These and other objects of the present invention will becomeapparent particularly when taken in light of the following illustrationswherein:

[0014]FIG. 1 is a front view of the paint brush pocket;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a side view of the paint brush pocket;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a view of the paint brush pocket along plane 3-3 of FIG.2;

[0017]FIG. 4 is a view of the paint brush pocket along plane 4-4 of FIG.1; and

[0018]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the paint brush pocket and paintbrush secured to the side of a paint can.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019]FIG. 1 is a front view of the paint brush pocket 10 of the presentinvention and FIG. 2 is a side view. In the preferred embodiment, paintbrush pocket 10 would be fabricated of one piece molded plastic. Paintbrush pocket 10 comprises a sleeve member 12 defined by a peripheralwall 14 having a rear side 16 which would be juxtaposed against a paintcan and a front side 18 and side walls 17 and 19. Sleeve 12 would have aclosed lower end 20 and an open upper end 22. The bore 24 defined by theperipheral wall 14 would taper from the open upper end 22 and the openupper end 22 would be dimensioned to accommodate the bristle end of apaint brush as described hereafter. Rear side 16 of peripheral wall 14is juxtaposed against a paint can and extends upwardly, higher thanfront side 18 and terminates with a paint can rim engaging surface 26for engagement with the rim of a paint can. Rim engaging surface 26 hasa depending leg surface 27 which depends inside the paint can. Dependingleg surface 27 is offset from the edge 29 of rim engaging surface 26 toform a lip 31 for use in removing excess paint from the brush after ithas been dipped in the paint.

[0020]FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross sectional views of paint brush pocket 10on the planes indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

[0021]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a paint can 30, the paint brushholder 10 of the present invention, and a paint brush 32. The paint can30, when ready for use, would have its lid 34 removed to allow access tothe paint. The rim engaging surface 26 of paint brush holder 10 would bepositioned over paint can rim 36 such that the sleeve member 12 wouldhang outside of the paint can 30 with its rear side 16 juxtaposedagainst the paint can 30. The paint brush 32 would then be utilized inthe normal course of painting, but when the painting process incurs atemporary interruption, the paint brush 32 would be inserted within thesleeve member 12. This would prevent excess dripping of paint on dropclothes or newspaper and simultaneously keeps the bristles or the paintbrush moist and prevents them from becoming dry or brittle becausesleeve member 12 is enclosed and the paint cannot drip from the brush.

[0022] It is well known that paint brushes come in many different sizesto accommodate different types of painting surfaces and paintingobstacles, such as window frames, door frames and molding. Therefore itis intended in one embodiment that the paint brush pocket 10 of thepresent invention would be constructed preferably of one piece moldedplastic and could be constructed in various sizes of sleeve member 12 toaccommodate brushes of varying bristle widths.

[0023]FIGS. 3 and 4 are views of the paint brush pocket along planes 3-3of FIG. 2 and 4-4 of FIG. 1. In the preferred embodiment it is desirousto fabricate a paint brush pocket of sufficient width and depth that itcould accommodate brushes of varying width and depth. In the preferredembodiment in FIG. 3, open upper end 22 would be approximately 4 inchesin width and 2{fraction (1/16)} inches in depth. The side walls wouldtaper inwardly and the back wall and front wall would taper towards eachother such that the width in that area labeled A would be 3½ inches andthe depth 1½ inches. Further tapering to the area marked B, would leadto a width of 3⅛ inches and a depth of 1{fraction (1/18)} inches.Preferably, the closed lower end 20 would be of a width of 1¼ inches anda depth of ⅜ of an inch. This configuration will allow a single paintbrush pocket 10 to accommodate brushes of varying dimensions.

[0024] It is further intended that the paint brush pocket 10 of thepresent invention could be manufactured and produced at very lost costsuch that the user would have the option at the conclusion of thepainting process to either clean the paint brush pocket 10 for futureuse, or discard it without any costly loss.

[0025] While the present invention has been described with respect tothe exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those ofordinary skill in the art that many modifications or changes can beachieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Therefore it is manifestly intended that the invention be limited onlyby the scope of the claims and the equivalence thereof.

I claim:
 1. A paint brush pocket cooperative with an open paint can forthe temporary storage of a paint brush during the painting process, saidpaint brush pocket comprising: a sleeve member having a rear face and afront face in tapered relationship thereto and opposing side walls intapered relationship thereto, said front face, rear face, and opposingside walls transitioning to form a closed lower end and defining an openupper paint brush receiving end, said rear face extending above saidfront face and terminating with a paint can rim engaging surfacedimensioned to span an open paint can rim, said paint can rim engagingsurface having a leg member depending therefrom within said open paintcan.
 2. A paint brush pocket cooperative with an open paint can inaccordance with claim 1 wherein said paint can rim engaging surface ofsaid paint brush pocket extends beyond said leg member dependingtherefrom to form a lip for contact with said paint brush for removal ofexcess paint when withdrawn from said open paint can.